Brooklyn Canarsie Lions Membership President Jean Joseph was sworn in for a fourth one-year time period on Tuesday, July 22, throughout an elaborate Set up and Award Ceremony at Group Board 18 on Bergen Avenue in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
“I really feel each immense gratitude and a renewed sense of accountability to face earlier than you once more, re-elected as president of the Canarsie Lions Membership,” Dominican-born Joseph, a licensed public accountant, instructed the ceremony after she was sworn in by Lions District Gov., Guyanese Jennifer Seymour-Wright. “I am deeply honored.”
She mentioned the Lions Membership Worldwide has at all times been greater than “a gathering of minds; it’s a motion of hearts.
“And tonight, I wish to recommit to that coronary heart, that objective, and the longer term we’re constructing collectively right here on the Canarsie Lions,” mentioned Joseph, thanking “every of you, whether or not you voted for me or not.
“I thank all of you not solely to your confidence in me however for the unwavering dedication you present to our group,” she added. “The Lions Membership has lengthy been a spot the place dedication meets compassion, the place imaginative and prescient turns into motion.”
However Joseph famous that even the strongest organizations face exams—”not solely from the surface world, however typically from inside.
“And so, as we usher on this new time period, I wish to concentrate on unity—not simply as an concept, however as a selection, as a apply,” she mentioned. “We aren’t all the identical. We come from totally different backgrounds, ages, experiences, and views. And that isn’t an issue; it’s our energy.”
However Joseph requested that members put their variations apart, stating that disagreements solely develop into an issue “after we cease listening to one another, after we begin labeling as an alternative of studying, after we neglect that disagreement isn’t disrespect.
“Unity doesn’t imply uniformity; it means alignment of objective; it means remembering why we got here collectively – to serve, to uplift, to steer,” she mentioned, “as a result of, after we put our egos apart, after we make room for this membership to develop into not simply purposeful—it’s transformational.”
Due to this fact, in her new chapter, she mentioned, “We’re going to focus deliberately on club-building—not simply extra occasions however deeper connections; not simply greater numbers however stronger influence.”
Joseph mentioned a key element of this transformation would be the concentrate on succession management, which might be focused notably on the Leos.
She mentioned a part of that imaginative and prescient means embracing new voices, stating that the membership’s future depends upon inviting younger individuals in—not simply to volunteer however to steer.
“We should present them that Lions isn’t an establishment to inherit however a legacy to form,” Joseph mentioned. “Via mentorship, recent initiatives, and daring outreach, we’ll open the doorways wider and ensure the roar of service is heard by each technology.”
Joseph mentioned these initiatives embody “ramping up outdated ones, like our meals distribution, and creating new ones, like an academic program for younger individuals.
Lately, she mentioned the Brooklyn Canarsie Lions Membership has dedicated to addressing meals insecurity within the neighborhoods “one step additional” by weekly distributing recent natural fruits from Dealer Joe’s.
She mentioned the membership has bought a van to ease the transportation price and make this system simpler.
Joseph mentioned amongst among the membership’s upcoming initiatives is a back-to-school occasion at Sunners Park in Canarsie on Aug. 23.
“Wanting ahead to the subsequent time period, I ask of you that we work collectively to make these and each different mission and program we undertake right here on the Canarsie Lions profitable endeavors,” she urged.
Joseph mentioned management within the membership “has by no means been about one individual—it’s about all of us, standing shoulder to shoulder in service and objective.
“Management isn’t a title; it’s a torch,” she mentioned. “And I intend to cross that torch—not simply when my time period ends, however each time I invite somebody to steer a mission, form a program, or share their imaginative and prescient.
“That’s how we construct enduring communities,” Joseph added. “That’s how we construct a Lions membership that roars for generations to come back.
“So, thanks to your belief, ardour, and our presence,” she continued. “Allow us to go ahead collectively, grounded in unity and dedicated to progress. The longer term is ours to construct — and we’ll construct it, collectively.”
Different officers sworn in for the 2024-25 time period had been: Charlene Wilson (first vp); Debbie Louis (second vp); Lawrence Kantor (third vp); Sophia Casimir (secretary); Thelma Moore (treasurer); Tomi Marshall (lion tamer); Jenny Troman (tail tornado); and Gladys Egwuonwu, Paul Curiale, Sheila Wiltshire and Joel Cohen (administrators).
Others had been: Camille Hastick (membership chairperson), Dr. Zulema Blair (membership LCIF coordinator), June Davis (membership service chairperson), Darlene Jolibois (membership advertising and marketing communications), and Cheryl Celestine (membership administrator).
Honorees for services carried out had been: Joseph, Casimir (Lion of the Yr), Lawrence Kantor (treasurer), and June Davis and Karen Dalzine (pantry).
New York State Sen. Roxaane P. Persaud, the Guyanese-born consultant for the nineteenth Senate District in Brooklyn, and Metropolis Council Member Faran N. Louis, the daughter of Haitian and Bahamian immigrants, who represents the forty fifth Council District in Brooklyn, additionally introduced some membership members with citations. Each are members of the Brooklyn Canarsie Lions Membership.
Previous District Gov. Jacqueline V. Philips was amongst different officers who witnessed and officiated on the ceremony.
